IRONY ON TELEVISION

IRONY ON TELEVISION; Still the Best Defense

Published: September 6, 1998

To the Editor:

Jeff MacGregor presumes to tell us the proper uses of irony; that is, to conceal a message of universal betterment from the authorities [''Past Jonathan Swift to Linda Tripp (Yeah. Whatever.),'' Aug. 23]. But irony is still the best defense against hand-wringers like Mr. MacGregor.

In an age when one may properly wish to shield one's 8-year-old children from the nightly news and even from Presidential speeches, irony is almost the only valid perspective on the virtual reality presented to us by the mass media. In his scorn for the comedy of irony, Mr. MacGregor launches a scattershot attack on a whole comedic generation. But does he really miss the tone of outrage underlying Dennis Miller's sarcasm? And has he not noticed that Bill Maher often expresses his sincere political opinion -- or at the very least acts as a legitimate devil's advocate -- on his show, ''Politically Incorrect''?